New York Yankees

Given the age of their roster, the urge to get their payroll down, and the fact that they have so many first round picks this year, is this the most important Yankees draft in a very long time? And, if yes, how confident are you that they will handle it well, given the results of Yankees first and second round picks lately?

(PR) TRENTON, NJ – A bloop single down the left field line scored a run for Bowie in the 6th inning and doomed Trenton in a tightly-pitched 3-2 loss to the Bowie Baysox Sunday. The Thunder trailed 2-0 in the 2nd inning after Zach Nuding allowed two singles and a double with the bases empty and two outs. Trenton responded by tying the game in the 4th inning with a pair of two-out runs of their own. With Kyle Roller at second which reached with a walk and Slade Heathcott at first base who bunted for a base-hit, Ali Castillo stroked a single to center field to bring home Roller. Heathcott advanced to third base on the throw, but Castillo got hung up between first and second base in a rundown. While Castillo extended the rundown, Heathcott broke for the plate ahead of the throw from the first baseman Aaron Baker to score what would be the final run of the game for the Thunder. Those two runs allowed Nuding off the hook, as he earned the no-decision after leaving with 105 pitches over five innings. He allowed two runs- both earned- on five hits and two walks while striking out five. His record remains at 1-5 with an ERA now at 3.28. The Thunder hit the road for eight straight games- four at Richmond and four at Bowie- the first of which comes Monday at 6:35 p.m. The game features RHP Mikey O’Brien (2-0, 1.64) against RHP Omar Javier (3-0, 4.05) for Richmond. Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and also streaming online begins at 6:20 p.m.

(PR) TRENTON, NJ – The Thunder were able to strike for six runs off Bowie’s newly-minted knuckleball-tossing starting pitcher, Zach Clark in a 6-1 victory over the Bowie Baysox Saturday night. On a night where the Thunder wore patriotic-themed jerseys at ARM & HAMMER Park, they saluted the troops in attendance by erasing a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings. Second baseman Jose Pirela and right fielder Tyler Austin both reached base three times on the evening to pace the offense which scored six runs on just six hits. Clad in a red, white and blue, Thunder starting pitcher Nik Turley allowed one run on one hit in six innings for his fourth win of the season. Turley, who championed a three-hit effort by the Thunder pitching staff in front of 6,359 fans, has now won four of his last five starts. In that time he has a 2.93 ERA with 30 K in 27.2 IP. The lone run in the game for Bowie was a solo homerun by Caleb Joseph in the 2nd inning. It was Joseph’s 8th homer of the season and his second in two games against the Thunder. Francisco Rondon and Aaron Dott three scoreless innings out of the pen to preserve the lead and the victory which bumps Trenton’s record to 22-20 on the season. The Thunder and Baysox complete their three-game series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The game features RHP Zach Nuding (1-5, 3.24) against RHP Devin Jones (1-2, 5.34) for Bowie. Limited tickets are available through the Thunder box office at (609) 394-3300 or online at http://www.trentonthunder.com/tickets. Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and also streaming online begins at 12:45 p.m.

While the Yankees continue to win games, it’s certainly not because of their offense. As show by the chart below, their on-base percentage has fallen off a cliff. The Yankees currently have a team OBP of .315, which ranks 10th out of 15 American League teams. This is very uncharacteristic of a team that led the major leagues with an OBP over .350 for the time period from 2000-2012. During that same time period, the worst OBP was by the Pirates and they still managed to post a .320 OBP.

Austin Romine got off to a slow start behind the plate after being called up when Francisco Cervelli went down with a broken hand. There was that forgettable first start April 29 against the Astros at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte lost his cutter in the first inning and Romine struggled to get on the same page with him. The Yankees ended up losing 9-1. But the 24-year-0ld rookie catcher has taken some steps forward back there since then. Good thing, too. Because Cervelli’s primary replacement, Chris Stewart, hurt his groin Thursday night and has been only available in a pinch. It sounded like Stewart won’t be starting the first two games in Baltimore. So Romine, who has guided the pitchers to a 2.25 ERA during his 60 innings, will get more time. “I think he’s gotten in a better rhythm with our pitchers,” Girardi said. “He has a better understanding. He’s been able to watch them a couple of times. He’s gotten back there with I think almost everybody at this point. So I think he’s just getting more comfortable. “It’s always tough when you come in the middle of the season as a catcher, and especially when you’re a young catcher, to feel like you know exactly what they want to do. That can be difficult. It could be a day when the guy doesn’t have everything, and that even makes it harder. But I think he’s adjusted really, really well.” Romine is also 3 for 6 at the plate over the last two games after starting out 1 for 16. Photo by The Associated Press. The post Romine catching on appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

The Orioles were supposed to miss CC Sabathia during their three-game series against the Yankees, which starts on Monday night at Camden Yards. The weather had other plans. Sunday's rainout at Yankee Stadium pushed back Sabathia's start, and the big lefty will get the ball against former teammate Freddy Garcia in the series opener.

Would David Adams have gone 3-4?Would we get no hit by the knuckler?Would CC have shined?Would Overbay save us again?Go read a book.

David Adams: Man of the people. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) The Yankees didn’t get a chance to complete the three-game sweep over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon because of the weather, but the rainout did allow the team to juggle their Andy Pettitte-less rotation. Following the postponement, Joe Girardi announced the team will skip Vidal Nuno‘s upcoming start and instead throw CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and Hiroki Kuroda against the Orioles next week. Nuno will be available out of the bullpen. Having a second left-handed reliever will be a big help next week against Baltimore, who has lefty-heavy lineup featuring Nate McLouth, Nick Markakis, Chris Davis, and former Yankee Chris Dickerson. Those middle two are the big concerns, so having a second southpaw won’t be insignificant for at least three games. There can be some serious mixing and matching later in the game if need be. Girardi indicated they will slot Nuno back into the rotation following the series with the O’s. The Yankees are off on Thursday, so they can push the Nuno/Pettitte rotation spot all the way back to May 28th, nine days from today, when they’ll be across town playing the Mets. Pettitte is eligible to come off the DL on June 1st, so it’s possible he will only miss one start with his left trap strain. With all due respect to Nuno, that would be ideal. The three game series in Camden Yards opens on Monday night, when Sabathia starts against former teammate Freddy Garcia. The Orioles lost to the Rays on Sunday afternoon and will enter the series four games back in the division. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogRainout allows Yanks to juggle Andy-less rotation

(Presswire) The Yankees were rained out this afternoon, so I figured I would post the open thread a little earlier than usual. The Braves and Dodgers are on TBS and the Mets are playing the Cubs right now, plus you’ve got NHL (Rangers!) and NBA playoff action going on this afternoon. No sense in waiting when everyone wants to talk about those games now. Later tonight, the ESPN game will feature the Tigers at the Rangers (Fister vs. Holland). That should be fun. Talk about any of that stuff and more right here. Go nuts. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogSunday Afternoon/Night Open Thread

The Yankees are all about winning, except when it comes to relying on rookies. Maybe this is a bit dramatic and overreactive, but in a season ravaged by injuries the Yankees have proven that they will try anyone out, but only veterans get to keep their spots. Adam Warren made the team out of Spring Training, Chris Nelson was designated for assignment to make room for David Adams, Vidal Nuno and Brett Marshall were called up, Corban Joseph made his debut, and Preston Claiborne has been given a chance. Yankees Weekly Report Card: 5/12/13 - 5/18/13 The Yankees get grades for their performance for the week. However, now Nuno's start in place of the injured Andy Pettitte has been skipped because of the rainout. I don't have a problem with this decision, what I have a problem with is that it comes when the Yankees are still letting Phil Hughes start. I'm not saying Phil Hughes should be taken out of the rotation, but tell me how he is a clear improvement over Nuno?There's a chance Phil could dominate the Orioles lineup, but there's also a bigger chance he will be the same inconsistent Phil Hughes we all know and even a chance he could blow up like he did in his last start. Vidal Nuno has a 1.54 ERA, 0.8 BB/9, 10 K/9, 5 H/9 in 23.1 innings in Scranton this year and has not given up a run in eight innings in the majors. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes has a 5.88 ERA, 2.4 BB/9, 8.1 K/9 and 11.5 H/9 in 41.1 innings in the majors. Obviously, Nuno is not going to be that good in the majors, but that line looks much better than Hughes' line. Again, I'm still not saying Hughes should be bench, though maybe he should, but if you're skipping Nuno you should also be skipping Hughes, especially after he gave up seven runs in only 0.2 innings. It's like the Yankees don't trust rookies or something. David Adams getting called up was a great thing, especially after he was released by the organization just a few months ago. This year in Triple-A, he was hitting .316/.407/.490 with three home runs and 13 walks in 113 plate appearances. More importantly, he was hitting .364/.432/.606 against left-handers, which is what he can help the team with the most – the Yankees are hitting a collective .233/.299/.359 against them. The Yankees recently acquired Reid Brignac to platoon against right-handed pitchers and add another option at shortstop to allow Jayson Nix to get some much needed off days. Today he was penciled in at shortstop, but took Adams' place in the lineup and Nix was moved over the third base. Jayson Nix has not had a day off since May 6, even after playing in both games of a doubleheader. He has hit .243/.375/.297 in that time, making him an easy bat in the lineup to replace, yet Adams is the one who sits. It's obvious that Joe Girardi only looks at handedness when determining platoon match ups and probably doesn't even look at players' numbers. Otherwise Brennan Boesch would have gotten more playing time against lefties, Ben Francisco would probably get less, and Travis Hafner hitting against southpaws would not have been a big deal. Nix is a lifetime .201/.271/.334 hitter against righties, meaning almost anyone should start over him if they have the option. Everyone except David Adams, apparently, who has a .302/.382/.439 line against them in the minors between 2008-2012. Reid Brignac is a lifetime .244/.293/.330 hitter, so I have to imagine David Adams could do better than both of them, even if he is right-handed. Yes, the pitcher's numbers versus different handed batters also come into play, as R.A. Dickey is much better against right-handers than left-handers. The problem is that you end up with the likes of Jayson Nix and Reid Brignac starting in the same lineup. I don't care what the numbers might say, Dickey is not going to struggle against them. I hope this is a one-time thing because Adams needs to play every day if the Yankees want to find out what kind of value he can give them. Phil Hughes will be a free age